Slow Baja - Ramon Castro "El Tomate" Class 11 Champion And Baja Legend

Episode Date: February 13, 2023

Today’s Slow Baja conversation is with Ramon Castro, the genial Class 11 Champion better known as “El Tomate.” Growing up in Ensenada, Ramon Castro watched the early Baja 1000 races from his elementary school playground.  When he was only 17, much to his mother’s chagrin, he entered his first Baja 1000. He had no experience, no plan, no pre-run, nothing. Amazingly, they finished second. “We were young boys; we don’t know nothing; we raced to La Paz, turned around, and raced home.” Castro dominated Class 11, winning Championships in ’83, ’86, ’87, ’88, and ’89 in --’84 and ’85, they finished in 2nd. He became a Baja racing legend, setting the fastest finish time of 27 hours in Class 11. He worked tirelessly with SCORE chief Sal Fish behind the scenes, negotiating with ranchers, marking the course, and helping young racers get their start in his RECORD Off-Road Series.  Enjoy the ride and this Slow Baja conversation with my amigo, “El Tomate.”

This podcast is powered by Tequila Fortaleza, handmade in small batches, and hands down, my favorite tequila. Hey, have you been hankering to join Slow Baja in the Nora Mexican 1000, Slow Baja Safari class? Well, you better sign up. We've only got a few spots left, April 28th to Cinco de Mayo. That's right, we start off in Ensenada.

You better be there a day or two before the 28th, though, because there's quite a fiesta, and then we take off and we run down the peninsula and see all the great roads, drive all the roads that the racers drive. We just get out way ahead of them, but we get a few minutes to stop, take photos, maybe jump in the ocean, grab a taco at my favorite taco stand. At the end of the day, we've got a spot for a Michelada. It's a lot of fun, and it is a world-class bucket list adventure. More information is at nora.com. That's N-O-R-R-R-R. R-R-A-N-O-R-R-A dot com, slow-baha safari class. And if you've got some specific questions, feel free to hit me up at slowbaha.com.

Click that contact box and we can schedule a call. I can walk you right up to the pharmacy window, get your prescription filled if your doctor has said that Baja is right for you. Hey, hello, how are you? Thanks for tuning in to the Slow Baja. We've got a great show today. we're back to one of my favorite subjects, motorsports,

and even better than motor sports. Class 11 racing, you know I love it. You know I love the slow guys. Well, today's show is with Ramon Castro, better known as El Tomate, well-known Ensenada legend. Before we get into more about Ramon,

I'm going to shout out Saul Saltzman as my heaping dose of gratitude this week. Saul is the heart and soul of this week. vintage end of Nora, there are still some folks running vintage things, and Saul is one of them. He has always got something cool that he's running, and he also puts on the fabulous vintage corral, which last April was an amazing display of Bill Strop Broncos and the Bill Strop Transporter and Big Ole, and it was truly, truly an amazing sight. So thanks Saul for the connection to El Tamate, and without further ado, we're going to get right into it because it's Class 11. It's going to take a few minutes.

It's Ramon Castro, El Tomate. So I'm always here. I'm looking here, looking at you, looking here. Sometimes I'll snap a couple photos. Yeah, okay. But keep smiling, and it's your story I'm telling. Okay. Okay, no problem.

Well, it's Slow Baja, and I'm here in Ensenada in the office of El Tomate. Ramon Castro, famous Class 11 racer. Tell me, Ramon, thank you for making some time for Slow Baja. Honda, tell me your story. Let's start with, when did you get into racing? Growing up in Ensenada, everybody wants to race, yeah? Well, when you young here in Ensenada, one of the dreams is race Baja, you know, for everybody. And when I remember, I stayed in the school right here in the corner of my home, I see when the cars start in the 70s, one block on my home. And I see when the cars start in the 70s, one block on my home.

and I say one of those days I'm raising and one of those I was racing and when I got it the first chance I start racing in the 80s and the first of the 80s I started racing and I finished my first race and I got right with a cold driver for one of one one one of my friends and I finished in San Felipe 250 and a let's continue race like I can raise the the 500 because I got a problem with the car. But one of the races is Ensenada to La Paz and it's finished in second place, you know, in one of my first races.

And something funny is I junk and almost 17 years old, something like that. And I got a permissau for my mother to go racing. And when I'm going to... bound. The guy said, okay, it's time to go into the start line. I said, hey, what am I? I had no got a permission for my home for racing. And I say, okay, I started to race. It's finished. When it's finished in La Paz, Porfirio Gutierrez, Indio Gutierrez and me, and he sit down in the front bumper of the car and I look him and he looked me and say, well, where is next? The pit crew is coming two days later to La Paz

and I stopped in every gas station for put a gas in the cars and you know something funny, I called to my mother and say, blah, blah, blah, blah, crazy boy, la, la, la, la. They didn't have permission to go into the rain, sold two of the cattle, sure, you know, had money and coming back.

And yeah, I had money don't worry, I said, he told me a lot of stuff. And he's a grand grand, grand day and when I driver the car coming back home because I know I have trailer for coming back and it's funny it's race to La Paz and race to coming back home that's funny and you were 17 yes 17 years old 17 years old and

and it's finished second second place in the 82 something like that amazing yeah yeah that's it and I do it that happened you know a couple of couple times to La Paz. I do it to Barston. I remember I go on Barston and I drive the car here to Sanada to Barston to racing and got one spare tire in the car, then Dan Camps and extra parts for the car.

And I driver racing and drive her back home in the same car. No, a trailer, crazy jump boys. Yeah, so you're racing a Volkswagen Beetle. Yeah. There's not a lot of extra room. No, no, extra room.

And if you have to sleep in the car, it's very uncomfortable, I think. Well, it's got a sleeping bag, and it's sleeping the floor in the desert. And somebody, the friends are going to raise in there. It's giving me shower in the middle and coming back home because there's no money to stay in the hotel. Yeah, yeah. Wow. Ramon, we got right into it. I think you're kind of a little bit famous among the,

the racing world, certainly the Class 11 world. If I'm not mistaken, you've set the fastest peninsula time in a Volkswagen Beetle. Is that correct? Well, my best time to finish the race in Ensenada to La Paz. I made it in 27 hours and 27 minutes, something like that. And I like to do it 24 hours, but in those days, it's only one gas station and San Quintin. And my chase is going in the gas station and the guys stay two oars for put the gas. And I stopped the race car in Santa Maria for two hours because I no had gas. And my chase is saying, they're going to bring gas to you. Next gas stop.

You need a way either. Well, I stopped two hours the car there because I know had gasoline. And discontinued the race. But sure, I do it maybe 25 horse to La Pazos or 26. And this perfect race is only one flat and the Baja 1,000. Stop for the gas. And in the last seal section, I stopped for 30 minutes and like that because another car stopped over there. And it's great, beautiful.

One of the perfect races for the class 11th. It's only gas and go. So to get this straight, you did the fastest time. And you're thinking that you could have been even faster. if you didn't have to wait for two hours for gasoline. Yep. I do it more fast than this can. And, you know, we just do a perfect, perfect date.

It was one of those days that, you know, only one flat for the bottle of 1,000 is nothing. And nothing happens in the course. I be run it a lot. I know the course very well. And that time, I, I finished. front or a couple classes. Amazing. Amazing. Well, I was at the score 1,000 in November of last year, and I think the

Volkswagen Class 11 that won the overall championship finished in 40 hours. Yeah. So they did not win the, I think they finished second in the race in Class 11, but they won the Class 11 championship for the season, but 40 hours. 40 hours, yeah. And a friend who raced Class 11 for the very first time

came in, I think, at 48 or 49 hours. Is it 50 hours the limit? Is that where they cut? Yeah, so he was two minutes under the cut. He made it by two minutes. By two minutes. Well, this name... And you made it in almost half that time.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm lucky, you know, nothing, no problems, and do it very well. And the car running perfect, no problems. And I drive it solo. I got a different cold driver, but I drive it for myself. I do it three times in the class 11 drive solo, and I do it one time in the mini truck when I start racing in the mini truck.

And I do a better time. I do a better time in the class 11 in the truck. And my best time is 27 hours. And my biggest time is a 40-something hours. You know, when you're going to the last 100 miles, you're not feeling that you're going or you're coming back. You're the only driver. when you drive by yourself. You're that tired.

Yeah, very tired. That tired. And you're hallucinating? You're seeing things. Yeah, you see elephants. You see people. You see everything when it's going to finish line. I remember one of the does races.

I remember I picked out one guy in the motorcycle. He broke in the legs. And he said, please help me. Nobody stopped. I started a motor. cycle four times for the guy and the guy jamming the motor cycle. I held the guy to jump the motorcycle. He coming down and say, you can drive it to motorcycle and I bring him inside of my car, my call driver, driver my car. And I drive it in motorcycle to the finish line. When I stopped the motorcycle

almost by five meters to the finish line and I told to the guy, the guy's cry and say, hey, jump in your motorcycle, you start in Ensenada for cross that line. And I start for cross that line in my car, not in your motorcycle. And I held to the guy cross the line on the motorcycle, and I, and I cross in my car. That race is the race I do, a 40-something hours. And nothing can lose. I held the guy to finish. Yeah.

And I finished, I finished four plays, something like that. and say, I'm very happy to help the guy in the middle in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, and you get the first place in heaven then. Yeah. Well, you know, and that's all times. You need to stop to help

when you need to help somebody. Right now there's a lot of communication. You know, this got a radio. You have a phone. You had everything for got a communication. And that's times. Maybe you see the fire. you know how something happens there.

But right, all times like no radios, no communication. It's very hard. Well, let's talk a little bit about when you started racing. Again, you're starting in the 80s. You're not going back to 1967. So a lot of technology had come into the race and pit crews and, you know, more dollars. But when you started, I think you started very simply. And tell me a little bit about the car, what you had in the car,

what some of those experiences were. like trying to sort out a problem as you went without being able to get on your satellite phone and call your crew to come help you. You solved it on your own. Yeah. Yes, you're on. You know, you need a race with your head, you know. Sure, you can, you know, you need something happened in the car. You need to fix it. You own. The chase crew is, you need a people is no. What's going up on the course and the I told to the guys every time I started I next point I there and the minimal by three oars and the max aors the I know on an a horse that something happens you come in next day can yeah next day come look for me

next day come and bad words and see what's going up you know and that's all time you need to get it you need to got it you need a got inside of the car is you need a water launch because the hell is coming for next day knowing the same day I remember the uh hang on hang on for a second rome let's just say that again yeah the help is coming the next day sorry i'm going to start laughing here if you're lucky the help is coming the next day if you're lucky yeah they did you're lucky this coming to hell the next day because uh and the chaise crew it's needed to come in you need it the people this know very well the baja because it's a lot of ways enough in marking and the course and and and i see

see people when when when it's broken I I remember history's people he's got him by four days and in the middle of nowhere and one of the people of the ranchers rescued the guys because the chase crew they say oh that guys is cruising already let's go drink something and and it's leaving the people over there you know and there's a lot of histories of the people in the bah that happens and the people of the ranchers rescue those guys and Capo guys is coming. It's job, his life and one week like that.

And the old times, remember. And right now, there's a lot of highways, new highways, a lot of roads to come and cross the race course. And it's more easy to get a help. And right now, the helicopters, the airplanes, and too many help. But all times, well, you need, need that got everything inside of the car for survival, survival in the desert.

What secrets did you have in your car for your survival? Did you have a little tequila in case you broke down for the night and you were done or to start a fire or maybe to keep you warm? Well, let me tell you, one time in San Felipe, I got it, I got two gallons of water inside of the car. And I remember it's very hot date and I got five. flat, one of those races, everything happens, flat, problems with the gas filters, problems all day. And the water is done. And I just thought for one guy's, just looked for the race. And the guy's got a big party, and the guy said, I told the guy, say, you had water?

No, I had only tequila and brandy. Okay, keep me a little bit. The guy keep me full bottle. And I dream about one of the time. and I know what's going out of the old ways. I wake up pretty soon with the alcohol and it's continued to raise, but it's crazy. No water, only tequila. No water, only tequila.

You heard it here first, folks, on Slow Baja. Yeah. Well, we're going to take a quick break here, Ramon, and we'll be right back with more. Okay. Thank you. Here at Slow Baja, we can't wait to drive our old land cruisers out of the border. and when we go, we'll be going with Baja Bound Insurance. The website's fast and easy to use.

Check them out at Bajabound.com. That's Bajaubound.com, serving Mexico travelers since 1994. Hey, we're back with El Tamate, Ramon Castro. And we're just hearing about the history of his history of racing class 11 in the 80s. You had a lot of success. Yeah. You won a lot of races. Yeah, I win a lot of races.

and I got it Lucky He's winning a lot of races and I go and race in Vegas, I'm racing in Colorado and when I jumped, they did, oh, there's one race in Colorado, okay, let's go race over there.

Hey, three days driving for my home to there. It's crazy. I have no idea when I start going there. And I stay in Colorado, racing and coming by home another three days for coming back. He's going several times race to Vegas and I win a lot of times and Vegas it's win in Barston it's win a lot of races

in Barston in US and in those old times um Amsterdam Tired sponsor me is when I little lucky the guys sponsored and um and the first car win for Amsterdam Tart and and the last car to sponsor for those guys and you know when when it's coming the the the the golf is done the sponsor for everybody and uh but that's got a beautiful beautiful times to to those guys so as as one i think and maybe correct me if i'm wrong but i think you're one of the only mexican racers who's who's made a name for himself also in the united states racing off road and winning off road against maybe some much bigger dollar teams well no that that time at the witty bald is oh yeah of course we

Willie Valdez. Yeah, Willie Valdez is coming on the top and one of the monuments with the Four Rangers. He got his sponsor for the four companies, sponsors for the different tires, you know, and Amsterdam sponsors me. And that time,

as Willie Valdez, one of the guys, Mexican guys, is got a good, good sponsor time. Sponsorship. Did you make some friends doing this for so many years? Oh, sure.

I think you're 40-something years racing now, yeah? Yeah, sure is. They start in the 80s and almost I win the Nora with, well, one of my friends is racing Nora

and I driver with those guys and it's winning in aura almost by two or three years ago the Ensenada to Cabo and it's got a good

good moment. You know, I like it that race because it's a It's a fun race. You know, that's not a depression or the real race. And you stop every day, you see you partners with, when you start, when you stop dream and food every day, you see people not seeing 20 years, 30 years.

And back, it's coming back, all these stories. Oh, I go in first place. I see you there. And I pass you. And, you know, there's many, many histories of that stuff. And it's funny. Yeah, I think that's one of the beautiful things about the Nora race. And of course, that's, I don't race the score stuff.

I do slow things with Nora, slow Baja safari class. But I think that is a beautiful thing that you stop each night. And you have a little, you have time to fix, you have time to get clean. You have a little fiesta, a little food. And you have a chance to see your old friends and talk to them. in a manner you're all doing the same thing it's lots of fun maybe you're not fighting head to head for the win but you know it's it's very friendly they call it the happiest race on earth for a reason yeah yeah that's right did you know that that that race is uh it's a full uh vacation week you're on peer runner you got vacations

with with you stop you love it do it yeah you know everybody everybody there i see people is right now He's got 80 years old, 7 years old, and it's beautiful when you see it's coming with his son, with the grandsons, and it's a stay in the sport. You love it together. And I think this is one of the sports, you can do it no matter how many years you have. And got a fun with your family and all the friends and get a good time. Yeah, I think this year the interesting thing in the 500, is again you see PJ Jones Parnelly's son is winning and getting a trophy.

You see Chris Stewart, Ivan Stewart's son, you know, coming over and he's winning, but he's having a shot with me. And you see, you see Robbie Gordon letting his son drive. Yeah. You know, in his new UTV. And to see, I don't know how old the son is, but he looks like he's 13, 14, maybe 15 years old. And it passes generations and passes generations. And Mike Perlman is doing something that his father. father started. Eliseo Garcia is doing something that his father started. You know, and I think

that's a beautiful history on display. Yeah, it is. It is. It is. It's the same. Right now, I do almost the local races here in Ensenada, and, and I do that because I remember my old times when it's hard to race. And right now, I, I had to raise the coming new generations, you know, the first race for Gustavo Bildosola is one of the ensignada San Felipe, one of the local races here. And Ampudias is raised there too when it's very junk. And a lot of guys with the motorcycles do at the local races. And it's the cheaper way to race. And this is why I do the local races.

And for coming, you're very happy when you see all the family. family is held the new generations, the new kids, and it's got a good time, family time, Ensenada, San Felipe races, the local races. Right. You see Bruce Yee and his father. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The G's coming, coming and the new boys coming. And Memo Rodriguez, the father-in-love with G's is coming. He wins several Bajas either. And that's a lot of families is coming.

And it's good start for the boys and their local races. So you started in class 11, building a Volkswagen Beetle when you were 17 years old. Yeah. Your mother and father didn't know. Well, no, that he looked me every day here. And he goes on the shore every day. They say, don't help this crazy boy. but my father is passed away

when I have seven years old but my mother every time stayed with me and I do a right and you know he looked I wore in the car but he never he said the guy never raised and I have money for race and I wore a heart

and on this race with the time I do it with Porfirio Gutierrez he paid the entry and I do it the full card and said, when he testing the car, said, okay, the car worked good, I raise with you. Okay, my promise has got the car ready. The car is ready. You need to pay the entry.

You need to pay the stuff. And he paid the entry and it's good racing. I know idea where I'm going. When I go to La Paz, I fly to La Paz by two, three times with my family, but I never drive her to there. When I driver, I say, hey, where is here? Oh, it's San Ignacio. Oh, how long is La Paz?

Oh, maybe one day more. Oh, okay. It's fine. I have no idea where I'm going. Maybe one day more. Do you remember what that entry fee was in 1981? The entry of those times, I remember it's almost by 500 bucks, something like that. And it's a lot of money. A lot of money. Yeah, but right now it's crazy.

Do you remember how much you might have been earning as a 17-year-old in those days when you were working? How much you got paid by the hour? Oh, I was hard. You know, I start driving by 12 years. years old and I started driving cars to Tijuana to Ensenada to one of the guy coming salvage cars for sale and I started driving those cars and the guys is paying me 150 bucks for each car I come in for Riverside to Ensenada and sometimes I got in the trailer sometimes I driver sometimes

stop and defraud any three minutes for water to change the tires because his cars coming you know the accident and you need to come here to Encinana and I work hard on that and it's coming here

and fix it those cars for getting ready to sell and I collect good money in those times but yeah it sounds like very good money it sounds like a lot better than what I was earning in 1981 yeah and and but this work hard you know But I repair motors and that's time for the same guy, for the cell.

And I start working very young. So good preparation for racing too, to be self-sufficient, to know how to fix things. Yeah. And to have the internal drive to get to the finish. Yeah. You only got paid when you got to the finish. Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

You know, I got experience with Mechanic and I get experience for the cars coming. with the accident broken and that stuff. When I racing, something happens. I know what I need to fix it. And this one is noise. I say, oh, something happens. And this has helped me a lot to get a good luck in the races. You know, the good preparation is coming with the hand with the good luck.

Yeah. Tell me about when you are racing solo and you're changing navigators. Yeah. But you're racing solo. You're Iron Man. Yeah, right. Tell me about your mental state and how you're able to continue to focus in for such a long period of time. Kurt Leduc said, hey, it's easier for him to not change drivers, to just be in the driver's seat, to change a navigator.

Yeah. And if you're in front, you're fully concentrating. But if you're not in front, that's when your concentration can go. Yeah. Now, tell me about what it's like where you are in the race. Yeah. When you're going in the first plate, you got a concentration. very well and very easy.

When you start the problems, you lost the concentration a little bit because they say, oh, I lost here four hours, three hours for fixing card, and I need a driver another 20 hours, so I need a driver 10 hours more. But what I do it, I put a different cold drivers

in the time the guys is work. Almost I put, One of my first driver, a cold driver, he is a farmer. He wake up every day four, five o'clock in the morning, and he's jamming the car in that time. Start with me, and he got out the car and coming and jamming the car next day by five o'clock in the morning, something like that.

He's ready to work. Yeah, he's ready to work. He's ready to work all day. Yeah. Being with you is easy. Yeah, and the nighttime, I put it one bartender guy. and that guy stay in the car almost by 9 o'clock

to 4 o'clock in the morning 5 o'clock in the morning and he knows is the lifetime and I jump another guy is almost a same young boy or me

but that guy is a he is a guy stay all day blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah-la-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-bush.

But Greenlee, he never stopped speak, you know, and say, let's go. And he got all the power, you know. And he's leaving wake up and focus. You never lost the focus with the finish line and that race. That's very nice. Chain people, you know, I know the eye put the bartender guy, been 7 o'clock in the morning, 8 o'clock in the morning, guys, maybe sleep. but and another guy you put in the middle of the night and maybe the guy is like as

and I put the people the real the right people in the right moment and he's hell a lot so it's all about strategy you've got the right people in the car at the right time yeah for their rhythmic their sleep cycle as well yeah and the chatty guy who's keeping you going at the end when you're gone yeah when you're your fate you've got the yeah because almost the you know the hard time is when the when the when the when the When the sun coming down, and it starts almost by 6 and the afternoon, when the, when the, and the start dark, that's time the, the lights is no word. The, you can see very well, and your focus is start coming, you know, the, you're going a little low down. And it's when the cold driver say, hey, come on, wake up, and then let's go do it something.

and I remember, you know, when I do it, the 27 hours is going in first plate, and when you pass another fast classes, you, the adrenaline is kind of. Yeah, it amps you up. Yeah, it helps you up. But when you had the race with the 40-something horse in the car, and you see people come in bad words in the course and say, no, I come and ride and say, oh, I'm wrong or I'm right. And it's too much time, you know, you see people, you see. the elephant, you see animals, and you see everything. You know, one of the trees is say,

hey, look at that people there, what people? You know, and that time, when something happens in the car, it's very hard to fix it. And I remember, and when you go in the car at that time, I remember I pull out the spark with cables, I put my fingers over there, say, oh, wake up. Wake up, you know. The secrets of the.

of Ramon Castro, you have to shock yourself. Yeah, and I've got a one chili or something like that. This continue wake up. You know, 40-something hours. It's crazy. Inside of the car is crazy. When I cross the finish line, I go on the floor. It's too much, too much time.

You know, I do a lot of exercise in that time, and I walled. I'm running for it. And I not drain, I know smoke, but I got a good condition. I had 40-something worse and the car. I remember I pulled people, just do a lot of exercise. The people just do the marathon for 42 kilometers. And I remember those guys by 100 miles.

Oh, I like it coming down on the car. It's too hard to me. And everybody carried the body forever you like to it. Yeah. Tell me a little bit about when you made the jump to class seven. So you've done very well in class 11. You've won an awful lot of races. And I think winning, finishing is so hard.

Winning is so much harder than just finishing to win. And then making the jump to do something even faster and more competitive. Tell me a little bit about that experience. Well, when I jump to the 7S, I had a dream that's maybe one of the companies has sponsored for Continium and the races. Amsterdam can be, the hamstrung tires gave me a lot for that, the tiny race in the truck. He told a couple companies and fuel sales sponsored the fuel sale tank. It costs a lot of money and I do the car, you know, ball by bolt and, you know, knot with

and everything, and I do it my best in the car. and I remember I go in several times I go on in first plate and but the money is the difference sometimes you know that that's that that time all the companies stay there for Chibi Nissan Toyota all all the all the companies is there and I remember when I when I chained one alternator I pull all the alternator one of my chase truck to one of my friends, oh, this ultinator is okay, I adapted to my car, and I stay worked by two hours for adapter the alternator. Another company guys is chain motor and transmission in the same time. And this continues, you know, I go on first plate several times, but the little things broken,

I know has spare parts, and it's hard. And you see the difference with the money. and when you race with the companies and you do it for yourself, it's crazy. Armstrong helped me with the tires and I test in a lot of new tires for those guys. But you don't have the, sometimes for computation, for the big money, you need the same money for getting the safe. And what type of truck were you racing? I racing Ford Ranger. Ford Ranger. For Ranger and that's time.

And I do it in my own motor. you know that the class started moving up the motor to 25 and I go into part of machine the guy helped me a lot with the Volkswagen motor and I I know have money for by real race crunch up and the guys I send the stock crunch act to those guys and his helmet and and do a lot of work in the motor and I do it in the motor 25 and I put the Volkswagen pistons and the four motor and I put in my ideas and the car and Bill Rodriguez came in for that too and the motor running pretty good I do it the rats for rabbit and that motor is going by 6,000 r p.m. It's no problem and when I go into dry

lights and like that the call drivers he said oh it's crazy this noise yeah and it's fast car but by you know the problem is I mean the alternative to too much RPMs and little things you need a different pulley, but you know, have money for a major, another one. And there's too many, too many things to competition for the big money. And what years were you racing this, the Class 7S? I believe it's in the 90s. Okay. In the 90s. So there were big boy programs then. You've got the Nissan program, the, the Toyota program. You've got some, you've got some million dollar trucks that you're racing against with development and factory.

support. Yeah, sure is. I do it. The guys has got a big support, big money, the Jeep for Welker Evans, that's McCracken racing that time. And it's raised together with those guys. I remember I passed McCracken with racing several times and he said, I don't know what's going on your car, but he's the only car, I got a problem to pass. But, you know, but he got all the, all the, all the attention and all the power for the big company when Welker is. is held in Jeep. The company spent a lot of money. And the Ford, the Simons and at that time,

Johnny Johnson, the Nissan Spencer Lowe, and all the old guys has got a company money, you know, Matt Persons and Cheebies. But I, you know, I'm a driver, I remember the first time I raised in the 7S. I talked to the drivers, say, hey, what faster I need to go in that class?

Hey, Ramon, you stay in the class 11. This is for men. You need to use all the gas. And I remember when I started first race in Parker, I said, well, the guys say, total gas. Okay, I'm ready for that. And I started like crazy. And I pass all the guys. The guys stop in one of the watches.

And I drive a per sane of the class 11. No power, but this needs to pass the watches. And I pass the wash. And I go in and der. rocks and everything, but I crossed the watch and I passed a lot of those guys. But when you got the mentality, the Volkswagen, almost you see a rock, you got a rock in the center because you had good skate blade. And the first time in the truck, you got a one rock and you put in the center, you broke in the differential. And I got a hit a rock in the middle

the differential and start leak oil. And my cold over, oh, the differential is start leak oil. oh okay and I continue almost by 20 minutes and say oh there's no more leak oil there's no oil in the differential and I lost the differential and maybe 20 miles more and this is the the first experience in the truck I know finish is broken the differential and I say well I need a driver like that like that and I testing and I do very well the second race is in San Felipe and I finish in third place and that second race That's in the 500. In the 500, I go on almost in fierce plate, but I broken the motor. Well, I broken the distributor gear, but gears not cost too much money, but I don't have.

And I does continue, and I finish four, five, but it's hard to raise for the company money, every time. And what can you tell me about your approach as you were starting to, get to it, the approach of a class 11 driver, where you're avoiding, avoiding, avoiding, and you're always power on, but you're trying to avoid the things that are going to break you or slow you. And the class 7, where now you have to figure out, oh, if I go, if the rock is here, it's going to break that versus when I used to go over that in my Volkswagen. But what was the, what other approaches are, did you keep in mind as a different from the class

11 to the class 7S? Well, the suspension is date and denied, you know. And that's time the class 11 is got almost no many, no many traveled in the suspension. When the flat section downhill, class 11 is fast, so a lot of classes. I remember one time I passed a tram vessel coming downhill by the Ascienda, in the Inaloa to Colonna Coquamalu

I passed in he going in Class 8 and the class 8 is almost insane has got a trophy truck

right now Yeah it's a big V8 pickup truck and I'm coming behind behind him and say

meep the Volkswagen and I say when he see the the Volkswagen he gone more fast

and I go more fast and I continue my horn to him and I say and he

took I passed him downhill and almost the Asina Loa, he passed me in the beach. Of course. And when he passed me in one of the sizes on the flat section, he said, hey. Hats off, Amigo. Salute to you as he goes by. Yeah, yeah. Sure he is because that car is going by 120 miles, very easy.

And I go maybe 70 miles, something like that in the flat station. And he passed me over there. And this is the race, the Baja 1,000. I do at 27 hours. But I go in my day. Nothing happens. Everything is going front. And lucky, lucky, only one flat.

And the flat I have is for my call driver. He said, turn to the right. No, no, no, it's left. He said, no, no, it's right. They say, hey, right left. And I got a flat. But it's the only happened in that race. And lucky.

Lucky, lucky race. Explain to me the difference from when you started and the technology in the car versus now. So now everybody's got a screen. You're following the line on the screen. You're a dot here. You know where you are. Tell me about the technology when you started. Did you know where you were?

Were you lost a lot? Did you have the root book? And you're trying to say, well, I think I'm on the right place. I pre-run. I recognize. But, uh, well, in those times, I held the score for, uh, for, for, it the race book and i know very well the course and uh but the old times i remember it's marking the course course for the leafing rainbows and sometimes you put a different colors

mcmillan is marking with the blue color almost when something danger yeah so he's sending a little signal yeah that's little signal sometimes it's got a tree rainbows that is It's dangerous. One rainbow is fast. All time it's marking a lot with the reflector for the night time. Three reflectors

sometimes is and, you know, the guys is doing a lot of things. Sometimes it's marking one section with three reflectors is danger. One reflector is fast. And 100 miles

something dangerous. guys is marked for one reflector and fast is marked for three. These big chain the markings for the another races. It's got a different idea what's going up. Because he doesn't want the other competitors getting the benefit of it. It's like the catcher is throwing the third sign as the pitch because there's a guy on second base. Yeah, sure is. It's not the fifth sign or the sixth sign.

It's the third sign when the guy gets the second. Yeah. And a couple guys is marking for toilet paper and, you know, many, many, couple guys marked it for one can or beard and a couple guys is put it a couple rocks for juno-dunal loss and the and the desert break but yeah and right now he's a bunch of the new guys the GPS is not worth you guys say oh i lost i i can continue the race because i know a gps i say come on and you know and the old times i remember i see i see the stars and say, okay, I'm going to the north,

I'm going to the, you do a real navigator with the old times and it's held almost, almost in the, when you cross the the Diablo, dry late or one of those

that late, night time, we foggy and seal. Uh-oh. You're going into tracks and you move the car a little bit to the right, a little bit to the left,

And when you feel and you cross the tracks, okay, dude, you're going straight. But sometimes you're going wrong line. You're going to the middle don't know where. So what you're telling me, Ramon, is you know all the tricks. So you're doing celestial navigation. You're doing the dead reckoning. You're certainly using the markings that maybe you have personally left. And explain a little bit about how courses are marked.

They're ribbons that are tied into a tree or along a fence or something. like that, right? Yeah, that's right. For people who don't know anything about the racing. And maybe the greatest story I heard was from Mike Pearlman, who was marking a course, late 60s for his father. And the race starts, and there are no course markings. Because the wild burrows had eaten all the ribbons, there was something that you could

eat. I don't know if they eat the plastic ones now, but when we're driving around on a nor race, you'll see some arrows or something from a previous race, and you have to know that that's not for you. yeah well in the Nora time right now the guys is spring a racebook and on the racebook it's got the knots and almost a lot of a lot of bunch of the cars has not got the the espioneromer this marking and when you when you read the race book it's got a marking a stray arrow and say these three miles you know it's got it you know my

idea where it's three miles and at three miles you see a duck is it's got a white face and then and and you see the cattle you run and almost he's in his okay it's got a corral and you turn to the right and the corral and there's no something marking like that and and three miles you see a tree and you're going to the left and and you go straight and uh almost two miles and a half and and a half you got to wash out and that okay almost you're going fast and almost two miles you start careful you know okay right here it's maybe washout that's maybe right here wash out and slow down and come and hide and it ravebook is hell a lot when you got a good navigator this is rate it's pretty nice it's pretty nice tell me we're going to wrap up here but

tell me about how you got your nickname el tomate how'd you get that nickname you well When I'm very young, I got almost 15, 16 years old. And I started driving one Volkswagen, like Baja Book or, it's only Volkswagen body with motor. And I got away myself and I pulled out. And when I put two tires in the air, I put one of the tires in one of the tires in one of my, legs and and I'm very red in my head and my face and my friends he say hey look it's looked by tomato and that time he's got a tomato for many many all my life I got the tomato name it's almost when I got 16 years old something in the 70s right it's funny and it's a stay

when with that name and it's tomato tomato and I got it a name for many many many many years And this was, were you lifting the motor out of the car? Were you lifting the car up? What are you saying? No, you're a strong boy. Strong boy, but plenty red. Yeah. Yeah, because I, too much power coming up, the car, you know.

There's no rotation. The car is got a motor. It's one car ruining, but it's no seats, no nothing. It's the car using, oh, it's my race card. And it's, you know, John Boy, junkie car. All right. And Ramon, we're going to wrap up, but you've made a few friends over the many, many, many years you've been doing this. Tell me about some of the good guys that you've become friends with.

Give me a little, we were talking about Sal Fish earlier. Yeah, Solfich is a very good friend of my. Memo Rodriguez is another of the good friends. And when I start, Porfirio Gutierrez, I write together with him. And I got a very, very good moment with Sal and Memo. You know, Sal is the grandfather of the races. He worked hard and he were a lot for the race. With the races and train out, you know.

Right now, I remember staying in the, and Saul with 10 days in the desert for marking the course to La Paz and Mike Leon and those guys who remember had the power for you marking all day in the desert. And next day, by four, five o'clock in the morning, is wake up and continue in the desert for nighttime. And you very tired and like that. And the guys next day, wake up almost same time.

And it's, hey, let's go. You know, something funny with us all one time is marking the course with the Pine Force in Sierra Juarez. And he got one, Toyota, a brain new and he's stopping the muck and I and I stopped with the with with the palfish I stopped with him one one week before and I know what's going up in the mug and I go the faster I came for across the moot and then say oh you like a driver crazy you like it only driver crazy in the car going slow it's four-wheel drive and

he stopped in the middle of the mood and he's worth hard for by four, five hours and pull the cars, and the brand new car is the only car, he's can pull out. And everybody just got a soft water and say, hey, it's going to shower. And they're leaving the car there and he's coming tomorrow, get a more big.

And he said, no, I stay in the car. Okay, I come back first time in the morning for you. And a surprise, six o'clock in the morning, salt's coming in my home and say, beep, beep, hey, let's go. What's going out? What are you doing? One of the more local races is going in the middle of the night with winches and does the stuff, and he can help and pull the car out. And lucky, he's out of the desert, coming back here and Senada by maybe one, two o'clock in the morning, and his wake up six o'clock in the morning for continuing the course of the day. You know, something history is laid out. There's many, many,

many, many histories of that point, you know, with Saul and got a very, very good moments. Ramon, I just want to say, hey, thank you for sharing a little bit of your history. It's been really delightful for me to hear about this period in the 80s. I photographed a little bit of this work, and I saw a little bit of it in person, but it's really great to hear it from you, to hear it from the Mexican side. And I can't wait to share a few of your stories with Sal, who I'm going to go see on Wednesday, a couple days from now. It's Monday here in Ensenada. And so thank you very much for making some time for me, for Slow Baja, and for sharing these stories.

Thank you very much, and I appreciate it, and I like it. Say thank you for the good moments to solve. Thank you for what luck, the president of High Desert. It's a nice guy. He helped me a lot when I go racing in Vegas and the High Desert. I have no idea when I go on there that's very young. And he helped me a lot, that guy too, the well-load. And many, many persons help me. You know, one of the, I talk when I win and the awards,

I say, thank you for all the big guys for not touch my rear bumper. You know, when I raised in the class 11. But I'm lucky and, you know, everybody held. I feel him pretty well when I go there. And people got a good, good times. and this is what I do right now. The I can help the people to the races. I return a little bit with the hell I receive when I join and I racing.

Well, again, I appreciate you making some time for me and sharing a little help with me with my own Slow Baja. I was going to live with you for a while, so thank you there. And I'll see you soon. See you soon. Thank you. Well, Ramon Castro has a beautiful smile on a beautiful, he's a beautiful human being.

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Without further ado, you know, Mary McGee's pal, Steve McQueen, that guy, well, you know, he loved Baja and he loved Mary McGee. And he's the one who told her to get off that pansy road racing bike and get onto a dirt bike with him come to Baja. Well, Steve McQueen said it. Baja is life. Everything that happens before or after is just waiting.